Interior Secretary Salazar to Retire in March

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who over the past four years has crisscrossed the nation to oversee management of public lands ranging from national parks to offshore energy deposits, will step down from the job in March, National Parks Traveler reported.

The secretary, a former senator from Colorado before he was named to lead the Interior Department by President Obama, said he will return to that state after he leaves the agency.

“Colorado is and will always be my home. I look forward to returning to my family and Colorado after eight years in Washington, D.C.,” said Salazar in a prepared statement. “I am forever grateful to President Obama for his friendship in the U.S. Senate and the opportunity he gave me to serve as a member of his cabinet during this historic presidency.”